Canada - Canadian Wind Energy Association members welcome British Columbia’s clean-power call

British Columbia is about to enter a new era of clean energy generation with the largest clean-power call ever issued in the province, states the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CANWEA).

BC Hydro has asked power producers to submit proposals that collectively will add up to 5,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) of clean or renewable energy per year, enough to power 500,000 homes.

Wind energy can generate this power through the installation of 1,600 MW of generating capacity, says CANWEA. With over 5,000 megawatts (MW) of potential generating capacity in the province, wind energy is poised to be part of the province’s “balanced energy diet.” Sixteen hundred MW of wind energy capacity would represent close to $4 billion in investment and create 3,000 jobs.

“Despite the fact that British Columbia is only now starting construction of its first wind energy projects, the province has some of the best conditions in North America for viable wind energy facilities,” said Robert Hornung, CANWEA president.